Unibroue Édition 2005

Formerly brewed at Unibroue (Sapporo)
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Chambly, Canada

From bottle at State College 8th Annual Festival. Alcoholic vapor in the nose, cherry and vanilla. Fruity and mildly sugary. Dark mahoghany clear with thin off-white head. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Starts sweet with backnotes of cherry, almonds and some vanilla. Has a tartness to it that is reminiscent of a Flemish sour ale. I find it a bit watery in the end, lightly tart with a moderate bitterness. The strength of alcohol was present, but it just didn’t have the complexity and balance of better examples of the style that I’ve enjoyed. Maybe it was too cold, too.

750ml brown corked bottle, shared with gilvanblight and PandoraGreen. Dark brown beer with a thin tan head. Aroma has a light sour note to it, trace of cherry, red wine, caramel and dark malt. Medium body. In the flavour - more cherry fruity notes, dark malts meld with slight alcoholic tone. Alcohol is kept in background, not overpowering.

Pours an opaque deep brown. Off-white head doesn’t last and thin lacing. Not much aroma from this one, but lots of complex flavors! The dark, full bodied malt and alcohol dominate the flavors. Reminds me of a wine with lots of malt (and lots of alcohol), although there is some biting crispness to the mouthfeel as well. The bottle I tasted indicates it was produced on 11-23-2004, although I just purchased it last week (second week of July 2005). Guess it ages well too!

damn this is good, poured dark with a perfectly thick creamy compact tan head, good mix of fruit, alcohol and spices, the taste is of fruit and alcohol perfectly blended with a touch of a first sip bite and smoothness all the way down, i love this brewery, they make a damn good beer.

For a long time, I’d grown dissatisfied with Unibroue’s quality control. Every other bottle of Terrible I’d bought opened flat and disappointing until, finally, I resolved never to buy it again. Terriby pleasing, then, is 2005, Unibroue’s latest variation on Terrible. Its foam pushes toward you inexorably, like Duvel in a grisly mood. The taste of jaded lightness is present, as always, the alcoholic content lending an appletree airiness to the musk of figs and chestnut. Lacing is a satisfying constant; freshness and smoothness find perfect union in the aging of this ale. A vast improvement on the unevenness of its ancestor (or possibly anemic twin). Like all higher end Unibroue, 2005 is bottled with a cork cage and minimal stylish lettering on a dark bottle. Unlike all Unibroue, its carbonation and foam survive admirably for days with the help of a vacuum stopper.

A variation on La Terrible- which is a good thing. This dark strong belgian has more sweet fruit than La Terrible but the same lush feel of dark malt and carbonation. Very good.

Dark chestnut brown with eager head. Spice, clove and fruit aroma. Nicely carbonated, sweet cloying spice flavor on tip of tongue, fruit and caramel dancing across and finishes with a subtle bitter malted hop kick. Absolutely worth the purchase even if it keeps the nights drinking to 750ml!

Much better than ’04, fruity, banana and berry aromas; strong dark fruit, banana, and berry influences over a rich, vibrant caramel and cola base; pretty dry finish and not overly sweet; nice one.